subject: Elementary School Teachers Prepare Kids For Future [print this page] Kids who attend public school come from a variety of backgrounds, and depending on their location, elementary school teachers can have a tremendous challenge in meeting kids' needs. Not only do they teach students reading, writing and arithmetic, but they help to prepare them for the future.
Kids learn important social skills in public school. Simply by interacting with children their age, they learn things about themselves such as what they need to do in order to be successful. They also gain basic negotiation skills and experience working in teams. However, kids don't have any idea how school is preparing them for the world ahead. They need help from their elementary school teachers who can see the larger perspective.
Students' ability to retain information and to score well on tests depends a lot on individual's dominant learning styles. Each student learns differently, so teachers must provide information using a variety of techniques including written, verbal, and interactive methods in order to reach their students.
Elementary school teachers do spend a lot of time disciplining students, particularly at the beginning of the school year when students are still getting to know what will be expected of them. Students who are having troubles at home will have a harder time focusing on their schoolwork, and their behavior has a significant influence not only on their individual learning experiences but also those around them. As a result, teachers get to know their students on a personal basis. Although discipline is often a daily event in the classroom, teachers know that students learn best when they are having fun. Once rules have been established that will support a learning environment and students start to learn what is expected of them, students and teachers can start to have fun.
Important skills that elementary school teachers learn in their teaching programs are chalkboard/whiteboard writing, sign building, bulletin board design and storytelling. Teachers use bright colors and fun patterns and textures in making learning tools. They develop games to help with knowledge retention and to make learning enjoyable. The classroom is designed for kids so that they learn the most that they can.
In recent years, the U.S. government has gotten involved in establishing curriculum standards for certain grades. How students score on aptitude tests is used to grade a school's ability to teach students, including students with lower socio-economic status, students who speak English as a second language, and students who have learning disabilities. Some elementary school teachers have complained about the new standards, saying they are impossible to meet. However, the increased efforts to help students have been improving their retention of information. The recent changes in school curricula mean teachers now have less leeway to teach how they want to teach.
The world will always have a need for creative and motivated elementary school teachers who know how to make learning fun and who also help prepare kids for the future. North Orion can help you enroll now in an elementary school program at a college near you.
